The Lesson
by PetiteEnigma
Summary: Jeong Jeong travels to the Sun Warrior ruins to learn...something. Oneshot. Requested by Densharr. Please review.


_Disclaimer: I don't own AtLA. Even if I did. It wouldn't stop me from cosplaying._

A oneshot requested by Densharr based on the following criteria:

Character: Jeong Jeong  
Genre: Spiritual  
Other: Post-series, Sun Warrior Ruins.  
Word: DRAGONS. Because seriously, that man needs to know the truth of fire, not  
Sozin-style anger-fueled fire.

THE LESSON

_A week passed and slowly the members of the White Lotus drifted back to their homes. Jeong Jeong sits in the center of a ring of candles as is his usual routine. The tiny flames responds to his breathing. He can make them flicker as little or as much as he so desires. In Ba Sing Se he was careful to not singe the buildings. He did what was necessary, no more. _

_"I am sorry to interrupt," Iroh entered the tent of his fellow firebending white lotus member. _

_"It is all right."_

_"Your bending is nothing to be ashamed of, Jeong Jeong."_

_"It is only a curse to me. Fire must be controlled or it controls you."_

_"The seeds of certain trees will only drop in intense heat."_

_"A few trees do not replace a forest."_

_"Fire gives us warmth, cooks our food."_

_"No Iroh, my bending does not have a place in me. I will ask the Avatar to remove it from me."_

_"You are not Ozai. You know there is a bright side to firebending, even if you do not want to admit it. Fire in its truest form is life itself."_

Jeong Jeong ran his hand over a carving of a dragon. The ruins around him were the only reminders of a people and a species long gone. It was nice he had to admit. He couldn't wrap his mind around why Iroh suggested he come here. True, the Sun Warriors once lived here. But he knew all he needed to know about firebending. His mind was made up a long time ago on the matter.

"I am too old for this…" he shook his head.

"Or is this too old for you?" The voice belonged to a young man in what appeared to be tribal garb. Jeong Jeong blinked, decided he was real. The messenger continued on, "Come with me. We know you were sent here."

"No one sent me. I came out of my own accord," he insisted as he followed.

"Our sources say otherwise. Your friend broke a promise to us by revealing our society," he didn't miss a beat.

"I apologize. I will leave immediately."

"No, there is too much you have not seen. If you leave here, you will not be able to return again."

"If I do not wish to return?"

"You will, we know. Here we are." He genuflected simply to a large man with larger sureness of his own power.

They've been through this before. Send them to the Masters to be declared worthy or unworthy. They do not know the Masters' methods, even after living with them for so long. He would be no different. They gave him the flame, sent him on his way.

His White Lotus robes stuck out from the landscape. He had no reason to hurry. The flame remained at a constant size. Dark clouds drifted and piled above him. Fire destroys many things but water destroys fire. At least that's how the thinking goes. He protects it as large, fat drops fall. With hands cupped around the sacred fire he trudges on. He may be known as The Deserter but that didn't mean he gave up. He only had a different way of doing things. The rain was cool, refreshing. Being surrounded by his element's exact opposite helped him, calmed him. He came to the flattened area below the precipice not at all surprised to find them waiting to direct him further.

He was nearly blown backwards with the force of something moving next to him. A flash of blue. A flash of red. They circled around him. Did his eyes deceive him? No. They were there. They were real. A pair of dragons.

Time slows. They stare. Expect him to do something. He stays still. Meets no one's eyes.

Fire from below. All around. He resigns himself to dying in this way. There is no bubble and burn of fire on flesh. He peers around. Even as a cynic he finds himself mesmerized. In these swirling colors he sees the life-giving force of fire Iroh spoke of.

The Sun Warriors release him with the same warning as the others. As well as a message for Iroh to never tell another person.

He will not be consumed and destroyed by his own fire.

* * *

A/N: I had a hard time writing this. A lot of fun too. I hope you like it, Densharr.

If you'd like to request a oneshot of your own, see my profile for details and send me a PM.


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